Wildlife:
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Why are wetlands good places for wildlife to live?
- lots of food (bugs attracted here, flowers and shrubs with fruit)
- lots of places to hide, diverse habitats: forest, pond, stream, meadow.
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Temporary and changing habitats can be safer, like potholes that are only wet in spring. No fish in there to eat babies.
Point out some places to hide, good camouflage tricks, seeds on bushes
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What animals live here?
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Things adapted to watery life: beavers & muskrats, fish and frogs, turtles & snakes
Show beaver feet or track with webbing, beaver skull with eyes and nostrils top of head (can see and hear while swimming), mink fur so dense and waterproof, try on mink coat, and look at inside to see how many minks it takes, heron bill for catching fish
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Migratory animals needing a safe place to rest and eat on their way, or a summer or winter home. Butterflies, ducks & geese, songbirds, hawks
Show wood duck house, duck calls, pictures, bluebird houses. (Wood ducks and bluebirds stay all year)
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A lot of these animals are shy, or come out only at night.
Show tracks in sand, then go tracking near the deck for the remainder of the time. Flag any good tracks so that no one accidentally steps on them.
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